The best low-profile PCIe x16 video card?

Archaea said:
did they charge you now? Or when it ships?
Click to expand...

They haven't charged me yet. From the looks of the order status page it looks like I'll be charged once they have the product. I contacted them to try and find out when I'll receive the product. I'll keep you all updated.

It's interesting, NICXUS actually calls you right after you place your order with a confirmation code to make sure your phone number and everything is correct. Shipping was only $13.50, which isn't too bad considering if I ordered it from NewEgg (if they had it) I'd have to pay tax and possibly shipping. All things considered, I hope my PSU can handle the 8600GT, regardless of how much wattage sites list it uses. I've never seen a LP card with DDR3 memory, so I hope it works! If not, I have another slimline that I just built with the skinny Antec Minuet 300 case that comes with a small Antec 300W PSU. It ought to work just fine in there.
 
Apparently, newegg took the 8500GT off their site...this is odd..

Also, I have one more question. I also watch movies and video clips, so with a 7600GS, it wouldn't make much of a difference comparing with the 8500GT?

Thanks for answering my questions guys. It was a lot of help
 
lockinsocks said:
I also watch movies and video clips, so with a 7600GS, it wouldn't make much of a difference comparing with the 8500GT?
Click to expand...

The 8500GT should be better with videos than the 7600GS, especially with HD videos. I was watching a 1080p h.264 video with my 7600GS and it ran perfectly. My E6600 was using up to 75% though. The 8500 takes nearly the entire process off of the CPU.

Plus, if you do find the 8500GT, it is silent.
 
I just got this email about the Galaxy 8600GT:

Dated Nov 01, 2007 at 12:48 PM reply from Ncix Support
The current eta for the card is for November. 12th. So once the product has arrived, it will be automatically forwarded and shipped out for you and an email with shipment and tracking information will be provided. Thanks!
========================
Thanks for choosing NCIX!
David Gold
Customer Care
Netlink Computers Inc./NCIX.com
Click to expand...
 
omjeremy said:
I just got this email about the Galaxy 8600GT:
Click to expand...

Wow - you order one, too? And you have the same computer as mine? I got an email from them saying the order has been processed.

I hope the Galaxy 8600GT fits in my Pavilion s3100y and run well.

My PSU is only 180W, though, and I want to overclock my C2D E4500 from 2.2 GHz to 3.0 GHz. (I don't know how to overclock) So along with the new Galaxy card, is that plausible? No bad effects from it?
 
Alright! let me know how it works in your machine.

As far as overclocking goes, we're severely limited by the terrible OEM bios these HP machines have. You can't really do much overclocking with the s3100y. The only option is a software solution. There's a program called "Clockgen" that allows you to do this. The settings for s3100y are ICS 954119. See: this post. I haven't tried any overclocking with the CPU, but maybe I'll take a look into it. As you can see in my stats below, my CPU is pretty fast already, but if I had the options I'd definitely OC it.

As far as overclocking your graphics card goes, it may be possible. The MSI 7600GS card I have allows you to manually set the speeds. And by trial and error you're able to find the highest you can go. There is a program called ATItool which really helps this process, but unfortunately it's not supported by Vista (yet, hopefully).

EDIT: It seems that Clockgen is unavailable from the maker's site right now. I hope it'll be available soon. Here's where the link should be.
 
Hi guys,

I'm also thinking about the Galaxy 8600GT low profile. A few questions for those of you who have it (or ordered it):

- Does it have HDCP (the spec says HDCP optional)?
- Is it fan-based or heatsink-based?
- How much performance gain from 7600GS (which I have right now), in terms of game performance?

Thanks a lot.
 
jinyu1 said:
Hi guys,

I'm also thinking about the Galaxy 8600GT low profile. A few questions for those of you who have it (or ordered it):

- Does it have HDCP (the spec says HDCP optional)?
- Is it fan-based or heatsink-based?
- How much performance gain from 7600GS (which I have right now), in terms of game performance?

Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...

http://www.gfe.com.hk/Product_Details.asp?id=135&class1=1&class2=
that's the picture Galaxy has of it and from it, yes, it does appear to be fan based. It doesn't even look like it's low profile.
Yeah, I don't think it has HDCP out of the box but the specs does say it is capable so you have to put in more effort to get it.
Now, this is a link to a review of the MSI 8600GT (full height, though)
http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/110505/msi-geforce-8600-gt-review/page4.html

and basically, what is says is that there's barely an improvement over the 7600GT
so I'm betting that the Galaxy LP 8600GT is marginally better than an 7600GS. I'm getting it, though because it is an 128-bit card and has DirectX 10. That's a lot better than my 64-bit 8400GS which can barely run Oblivion at 30 FPS at 600 X 460 resolution. *cries*

Edit- Actually, now that I looking at the specs of both cards, I think the 8600GT does provide a significant improvement over the 7600GS. It just sucks, however, that it doesn't really have much over the 7600GT
 
generic20 said:
Yeah, I don't think it has HDCP out of the box but the specs does say it is capable so you have to put in more effort to get it.
Click to expand...

More effort?

HDCP support is provided via a licensed hardware "chip" on the video card. It isn't a software/add-on solution. Either the hardware for HDCP is there, or it isn't. It can't be added later.

I believe "optional" may indicate that the Vendor, (IE MSI, BFG, Galaxy, FoxConn, Leadtek etc) may choose to purchase the HDCP chip and implement it on the video card board --- but it doesn't have to support HDCP --- it's just up the Vendor.

There's a good article on this HDCP information at Thresh's firing squad's site.
 
Archaea said:
More effort?

HDCP support is provided via a licensed hardware "chip" on the video card. It isn't a software/add-on solution. Either the hardware for HDCP is there, or it isn't. It can't be added later.

I believe "optional" may indicate that the Vendor, (IE MSI, BFG, Galaxy, FoxConn, Leadtek etc) may choose to purchase the HDCP chip and implement it on the video card board --- but it doesn't have to support HDCP --- it's just up the Vendor.

There's a good article on this HDCP information at Thresh's firing squad's site.
Click to expand...

I meant he's probably has to put in more effort in making sure the card has HDCP before he buys it. It doesn't matter to me whether the card has HDCP so I just bought the first card I saw.

Edit-Oh wait a minute, nevermind, if you order one from NCIX, it does appear to have HDCP.
 
jinyu1 said:
Where did you get that information? I think NCIX just copied the spec from Galaxy's web site, which said "optional".
Click to expand...

http://forum.ncix.com/forums/index....did=1467669&pagenumber=1&msgcount=9&subpage=1

quote from somebody:

Here is an part of an email that I got back from Galaxy. Sounds good for what I need it for. Low profile card to work in my Dell 531S.

Dear Value Customer,
Thanks for your E-mail.

- For the meaning of HDCP(optional) issue, it is because we have vary versions which carries HDCP or non HDCP. But for the 8600GTLP products in NCIX, it is HDCP supported.
-For the 8600GTLP, its size is 165×80mm, which is one of the Low profile specification and Dell Inspiron 531S's case is:(H)362mmx (w)100mm,(D)435mm. For what it means, the 8600GT LP could fit in the case. If you still have any doubt, you may consult the local dealer for more details.

Although i would hardly call this evidence that the card is HDCP supported.
 
Thanks for the article.

Pretty much the 7600GS was more bang for the buck. ATI has been quite disappointing with their video cards. The only card that I really liked from ATI was the 9800pro which is soooo old.

Well, thanks a lot guys. You guys gathered quite a lot of helpful information and helped me decide which video card to buy for my Dell slimline desktop.
 
We can get the MSI 8600GT, after all. Check it out: http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/76946/VIDEOCARDS_GEFORCE_PCI-EXPRESS_SERIES/MSI/NX8600GT-MTD256E.asp

They will ship the card internationally. It comes out to about $135-145 USD when all's said and done. That's about the same price that NCIXUS is charging for the Galaxy 8600GT, which, unlike the MSI, doesn't have HDMI and may not support HDCP.

If the Galaxy from NCIXUS.com falls through I'll probably order this one. The date of November 12 is fast approaching.
 
NCIX got them in today. :) I am the one that emailed Galaxy about the hdcp question. They replied that is was a feature that is enabled on the card. We will see if it is. Good luck with your cards when you get them.
 
A (rather weak) review of another LP 8600GT with native HDMI. The review notes that the fan is very quiet (but intrudes into the next slot), and that the card comes with the LP brackets (unlike the MSI).

However, POV is another manufacturer that doesn't seem to be big in the US market.
 
I"m going to guess after going through that review that the reason that its performance is lacking is due to the 64bit memory bus. I could be wrong but other than the ATI x1600 hdmi card all low profile cards don't have enough space to implement the 128bit ram. Once again i could be wrong, but having said that 4700 in 3dmark 06 from a low profile card is quite good.
 
I'm pretty sure that it has 128-bit memory. Agreed though, 4700+ in 3D Mark 06 is pretty good for a LP card. I should be getting my Galaxy 8600GT LP soon which has DDR3 memory, the only LP card I've seen with DDR3 memory.
 
Has anyone rec'd a tracking number or an e-mail when NCIX.com will send out the 8600GT LP? I ordered mine back on 10/04. The only respone was a shipment was due in 11/12. Just won a C2D 6700 off Ebay for my Slimline S3100y. It sucks waiting this long for a video card.
 
I haven't heard either and I ordered mine on 10/31. I just wrote them asking about the status.

That's a pretty good price for the 7300GT. I had a 7300GT in my previous computer and it worked just fine for mild gaming (UT2004 works great). Since it's whitebox there probably isn't a low profile bracket that comes with it.
 
omjeremy said:
I'm pretty sure that it has 128-bit memory. Agreed though, 4700+ in 3D Mark 06 is pretty good for a LP card. I should be getting my Galaxy 8600GT LP soon which has DDR3 memory, the only LP card I've seen with DDR3 memory.
Click to expand...
where did you order you LP 8600GT from? the link you provided on page 7 from techbuy.com states it has DDR2 memory, which would mean it's not the new LP 8600GT card...
 
rimz said:
where did you order you LP 8600GT from? the link you provided on page 7 from techbuy.com states it has DDR2 memory, which would mean it's not the new LP 8600GT card...
Click to expand...

He's talking about the Galaxy Geforce 8600GT and it does say it has DDR3.
Well, I haven't heard anything from them yet despite having already paid for it now. It says it does have some quantity of the cards if you check stock on it. Maybe they're being lazy or something,
 
omjeremy said:
I haven't heard either and I ordered mine on 10/31. I just wrote them asking about the status.

That's a pretty good price for the 7300GT. I had a 7300GT in my previous computer and it worked just fine for mild gaming (UT2004 works great). Since it's whitebox there probably isn't a low profile bracket that comes with it.
Click to expand...

Rec'd shipping notice from NCIX.com w/ tracking number, be in Friday:D
 
generic20 said:
He's talking about the Galaxy Geforce 8600GT and it does say it has DDR3.
Well, I haven't heard anything from them yet despite having already paid for it now. It says it does have some quantity of the cards if you check stock on it. Maybe they're being lazy or something,
Click to expand...
yes i know the Galaxy GeForce 8600GT has DDR3...i'm asking about the link to techbuy's site for the MSI GeForce 8600GT...so i guess MSI's card has DDR2 and Galaxy's has DDR3?
http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/76946/VIDEOCARDS_GEFORCE_PCI-EXPRESS_SERIES/MSI/NX8600GT-MTD256E.asp
 
rimz said:
yes i know the Galaxy GeForce 8600GT has DDR3...i'm asking about the link to techbuy's site for the MSI GeForce 8600GT...so i guess MSI's card has DDR2 and Galaxy's has DDR3?
http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/76946/VIDEOCARDS_GEFORCE_PCI-EXPRESS_SERIES/MSI/NX8600GT-MTD256E.asp
Click to expand...

yes, everyone who ordered one bought it from NCIX
http://www.ncixus.com/products/26441/86GEF8HDFCXX/Galaxy Techology/

but something's wrong here.
Someone already received one and this is what he'd said:

Though the hard is in fact low profile, a low profile bracket was not included with the card. I'll be attempting to remove the existing bracket later today and will keep everyone informed.
 
omjeremy said:
Alright! let me know how it works in your machine.

As far as overclocking goes, we're severely limited by the terrible OEM bios these HP machines have. You can't really do much overclocking with the s3100y. The only option is a software solution. There's a program called "Clockgen" that allows you to do this. The settings for s3100y are ICS 954119. See: this post. I haven't tried any overclocking with the CPU, but maybe I'll take a look into it. As you can see in my stats below, my CPU is pretty fast already, but if I had the options I'd definitely OC it.

As far as overclocking your graphics card goes, it may be possible. The MSI 7600GS card I have allows you to manually set the speeds. And by trial and error you're able to find the highest you can go. There is a program called ATItool which really helps this process, but unfortunately it's not supported by Vista (yet, hopefully).

EDIT: It seems that Clockgen is unavailable from the maker's site right now. I hope it'll be available soon. Here's where the link should be.
Click to expand...

Oh yes, about clockgen, how do you know if you reach the max stable speed if your CPU-is it like overclocking you graphics card and testing for several hours?
 
Yes, it's the same. There are various programs out there to help stress test your computer. I can think of: Prime95 and SiSoftware Sandra as two programs that do this. There are many others also. Check out the overclocking how to from tom's hardware forums available here.
 
Well I just got the Galaxy 8600GT.
This thing does not have a low profile bracket but you can easily remove it. I just switched the bracket with the one on my 8400GS (It doesn't look to great). And after some frustration on removing my old card and putting the new card in, errors in Windows and a force shutdown, it works. The fan, though, is completely loud and annoying. I want to see if I can remove it and replace it with the one on my 8400GS-maybe that's impossible, I don't know but the fan is driving me crazy! On the plus side, there is a significant increase in performance. With my 8400GS, I could only run Rainbow Six: Vegas at 640X480 with a features turned off or set to low to get a good framerate but I can run the game at 1024X768 just fine with the 8600GT. Now, it just needs some overclocking.
 
I just got the Galaxy 8600GT also. The fan is really loud I agree. Not whiney, but white noise. It's much louder than my MSI 7600GS. It sucks... but it is pulling a lot of air through the card.

Anyway, it's a great little card. It outperforms the 7600GS by a lot. UT3 Full runs maxed out (100% and 5) @ 1680x1050 at a plenty playable framerate. 1080p h.264 video runs perfectly. Though rarely, HD videos wasn't perfect with the 7600GS (in high motion videos), so this is a big plus.

My vista scores went from
Graphics: 5.0
Gaming: 4.8
to
Graphics: 5.9
Gaming: 5.5

Now my Vista score is a 5.4 (processor). Not that it matters, but I like having a machine over 5.0.

And yet, I'm using this card with a 180W! PSU in my slimline. Good to know that HP isn't underrating their PSUs.

Edit: here are the scores I got:
104835 AquaMark03
9408 3DMark05
4535 3DMark06

Edit#2: I was able to OC the card to 640/1500. Here are the revised scores:
107524 AquaMark03
10501 3DMark05
5046 3DMark06
Vista Gaming went to 5.6
6337 PCMark05
 
hmm, - my Vista base score is 4.8 due to RAM but I have a 2GB SDRAM @ 667MHz. Oh well, I'll upgrade to 4GB soon. I increased the speed of the 8600GT to 625MHz from 540 but I'd noticed that the card runs pretty hot. That combined with the loud fan makes me afraid at some point, the card will just overload and burn.
 
That's weird... 2GB of DDR2-667 should produce a better result. My RAM produces a 5.7. Sure it's not the processor that's producing the 4.8? Also, if you want to upgrade the RAM in the s3100y you previously said you had, unfortunately 2GB is the max. The mobo doesn't support 2GB sticks. It's too bad...

Agreed, though... the card does run hot, but the heatsink/fan seems to work well. I wonder if there's a way to monitor the card's temps in Vista. Anyonye know?
 
hey guys. ive been following this thread and now i have a slim case that requires a low profile.

My problem is a little different in that this is getting hooked up to my OLD tube style hdtv. Why this is an issue is because i need an ati card.

Even with the nvidia overscan compensation software built into the latest drivers it just doesnt cut it. when they updated to 1xx series from the 9x they dropped the ability to overscan at 800x600 on hdtvs, now it forces me to 760p res (which is monitor native). but this doesnt cut it and looks like crap on my tv :p

So i have to go with ati and their drivers, then i have little to no issues with the display. this saddens me as i am an nvidia guy and buying an ati to me is practically a sin. but that aside, does anyone here actually have the 1650 low profile? can anyone vouch for its fan/loudness and game performance. the x1300 is just not enough .. so i have to get the best i can.

i need something that is either SUPER quiet or silent. the whole computer is almost completely silent. i really do not want to lose this feature. but i also need a fair performer. Dont need to play crysis or anything, but low res bioshock and high res c&c3 would be a must.

right now i have a ati 9600pro in agp in my old htpc and i ripped a silent nvidia cooler off of my old fx5200 and strapped it on there with arctic silver 5 and now its silent.

Now i just need the best ati low profile card i can get that is quiet or silent.

Thanks for the help yall, and this thread is a really high hit on google now. and has the best info of any low prof thread ive found yet. so lets keep it going :D
 
Finsfan1983 said:
Same here I have 2GB DDR2-677, Vista score 4.8. If I upgrade to DDR2-800, I may have a higher score.
Click to expand...

I installed a Transcend DD2-800 and it was downclock to 677..so you really cant get any performance improvement if you installed DDR2-800 memory
 
Hi guys, iI wanna play starcraft 2 next year(if it's available), do you think 8500gt is enough to handle or I need to buy 8600gt? I have 3 options now, one is MSI 8500GT / 256MB DDR2 from newegg $82, one is NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT / 512MB DDR2 from tigerdirect $95, or Galaxy GeForce 8600GT $120. which one are you guys going pick if you were me. which one is more valuable to buy? THANK YOU FOR ALL HELPING.
 
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